Three men were rescued by Suffolk County Police, after their plane went down in Setauket Harbor on Saturday evening. At approximately 11:05 p.m. a small plane, carrying four men. was forced to make an emergency landing due to engine troubles.
Austricio Ramirez, a student pilot was flying the Piper Archer four-seat fixed wing aircraft from Fitchburg, Massachusetts to farmingdale, under supervision of instructor pilot, Nelson Gomez. When the aircraft began to experience engine troubles, Ramirez turned the controls over to Gomez.
Gomez was able to land the plane in Setauket Harbor, allowing all four occupants to evacuate the plane into the water. A rescue was quickly underway by Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct Officers, Marine Bureau divers, Suffolk County Police Aviation officers. Volunteer fire departments, divers, the Brookhaven Town Harbormaster and the United States Coast Guard responded to the scene to assist in the rescue operation.
Ramirez, 25, from the Bronx, Gomez, 36, from Queens, and Perez, 25, from Queens, were rescued from the harbor. The three men were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment and released. The fourth man, Gerson Salmon-Negron, 23, of Queens, remains missing. The search for Gerson Salmon-Negron continued on Sunday and is expected to resume this morning.